See Also: bulldog(dictionary)
bulldog(encyclopedia)
bulldog(medicine)
bulldog(dictionary)
Bulldog clip(dictionary)
Bulldog market(finance)
Bulldog bond(finance)
Bulldog market(money)
Bulldog bond(money)
bulldog head(medicine)

bulldog (iou)



bulldog noun & verb. E16.
[from BULL noun1 + DOG noun.]
A. noun.
(An animal of) a thickset, large-headed, and smooth-haired breed of dog, renowned for power and boldness. E16.
b. fig. A tenacious and courageous person. M19.
Orig., a sheriff's officer. Now, a proctor's attendant at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. colloq. L17.
A gun; a cannon; a revolver. colloq. (now rare or obsolete). E18.
a. A large biting fly of the genus Tabanus. N. Amer. L18.
b. A large ant with a vicious sting. Austral. M19.
A short brier pipe. L19.
Comb.: bulldog ant = sense 4b above; bulldog bond a sterling bond issued by an overseas borrower; bulldog breed Englishmen regarded as archetypes of dogged courage; bulldog clip a clip with a powerful closure; bulldog issue: of bulldog bonds.
b. verb trans. Infl. -gg-. Attack like a bulldog, wrestle with; treat roughly. Chiefly US. M19.